Saturday, August 16, 2014

G'day all
I hope we are all having a jolly release from gripping beast with the new crescent and cross. I'm sure our minds are all brimming with ideas, purchase lists and nasty combos to wipe the smirk off our gaming buddies faces. Today rather than doing a review of the book (which has been aptly covered by several other bloggers who have done a bang up job), I thought it would be interesting to explore the factions in the book to showcase the play styles, strengths and weaknesses of the 6 new kids on the block.

Hopefully this will help any of you out there that have either not purchased the book for lack of information or are simply waiting for the bug to bite.

THE OVERALL SUMMARY
The six new factions included are:
-Crusaders
-Saracens
-Milites Christi
-Mutatawwi'a
-Spanish
-Moors

Overall these factions each bring something new to the game and are mostly unlike anything seen in previous releases. It is also worth noting that these six factions have alot more freedom or options then their dark ages elders. For example the Saracens have the option to take Hearthguard with or without bows and warriors mounted with or without bows or on foot. This seems to be the going number of options in each Warband and is more than the early dark ages counterparts with their 1 or 2 options at most. I would stress that these options don't make these factions any more powerful in my opinion, but simply give players more flexibility in playing each of them in their own way. Before I get stuck in it should be noted that all thoughts below are exactly that... thoughts. I have yet to play these factions so at this point the below breakdowns are a first impression and are likely subject to change as we play them out.

The crusaders from the outset seem like the most workable force in the book allowing just about any option for each unit type. however the makeup of said options will dictate how the board is used. The crusaders battle board is somewhat locked up at the beginning of the game and the player can attempt to unlock the rest (virtues) via saga dice sacrifice for that turn. This means the Crusaders from a theoretical position require the player to have a plan and stick with it as the cost of unlocking other sections of the battle board do not favor overall efficiency. Their spread of dice across the battle board also shows that their abilities can be quite expensive when taking into account the attempts of unlocking virtues. I'm not too sure how difficult these guys will be to play but they seem like the calculative generals style with allot of thought going into pregame rather than mid game.

THE SARACENS
Saga dice distribution:
4 x common
8 x uncommon
4 x rare

The Saracens look like the Norman-esque cav+ shooting army but with a emphasis on mobility. unlike the Normans however alot of the Saracen abilities involve a large amount of randomness which can range from very good to very poor results. there are of course ways to mitigate this randomness on their battle board but at the cost of saga dice. The Saracens overall will suit the players out there who love their roulette and enjoy the highs and lows of tabletop gaming. For those out there that have shaky relationships with the dice gods...steer very clear.

MILITES CHRISTI
Saga dice distribution:
6 x common
7 x uncommon
5 x rare
Again we have a christian force that involves sacrificing of saga dice each turn to boost their abilities and options. unlike the crusaders however they are much more of a professional force leaving the levies at home. This force looks to me like the resource managers go to faction. the piety resource you gain by sacrificing saga dice can be used in many different ways and allow the player to store piety early on to hit hard late game, or simply use it throughout the game to power up abilities as you need them. While they mostly seem more able to respond to threats than the crusaders the wrong use of piety could surely leave these guys in trouble.

MUTATAWWI'A
Saga dice distribution:
4 x common
5 x uncommon
5 x rare
The Mutatawwi'a are a free peoples Muslim force built around the concept of model sacrifice to boost abilities, to put these guys simply they are the pure aggressor faction in this book. They have access to camels which are the rock to the horseman scissors and their infantry can charge forth like cavalry if need be. majority of their abilities will require a model to be sacrificed producing Martyr tokens which in turn can be used to bring models back to life later. players who enjoy getting in someones face will love these guys and the Martyr rules create an interesting dilemma of life vs power.

SPANISH
Saga dice distribution:
6 x common
6 x uncommon
3 x rare
The Spanish offer subtle but interesting changes to the battle board and as such require a little more finesse than the others at first glance. First of all their activation boxes for units only specify mounted or on foot models rather than hearthguard, warriors and levies. furthermore allot of their abilities seem to favor being used in the opponents turn similar to the franks and would suggest a more reactionary battle plan. Theoretically I am willing to say these guys are the tough or hard mode faction in the book. they represent a challenge to veterans and reward to those out there who enjoy playing reactionary. Also These guys have access to what can only be described as "Tau jet pack" units which can move>shoot>move>shoot in a single activation...nasty.

MOORS
6 x common
6 x uncommon
5 x rare
Finally the Moors seem like a very straight forward faction but with a minor twist. That twist is corruption of the enemy forces. Some abilities in their hand punish enemies for leaving units outside their warlords influence, and resting as well as taking control of enemy units for a turn. this is backed up by some solid defensive abilities which favor their warriors on foot. The Moors look like the perfect faction for those who wish to dictate their opponents movements and options. They do not present any amazing hard hitting abilities that will melt face but will cost an enemy warlord who is not paying full attention the game.

All of these new factions look exciting to play with and against so Alex Buchel has surely outdone himself this time. I would also like to thank Ian and John at War and peace games for being super on top of this release and getting this book in my hands ASAP. I am very much looking forward to getting stuck into more Saga!